This was such a rich and captivating novel, but definitely a really hard read. Hynes does an excellent job at setting the characters in this world, I felt like I was right there with them. Additionally, they all felt super complex and real - throughout the novel, I really felt as though I was in the setting and rooting for them. Of course, this novel is set in a brothel so the subject matter is extremely difficult to read at points but I found that the way Hynes tackled it by having Sparrow revert into a literal sparrow who watches the graphic scenes unfold from above was well done and reminiscent of actual trauma responses that some people experience. It broke my heart to be put into that perspective knowing that Sparrow needed to in order to survive them. I'm conflicted with how I feel about the end of the novel; I just wish the final moments were explained a little better, but overall this was a really gripping read (albeit uncomfortable, so please look up trigger warnings before reading).

I don't know to review and rate Sparrow from what I read (~25%). I knew going in it was around Roman Britain, but outside of that, I had no real idea of what was going to happen. I didn't get to finish before it expired, so I'm hesitant to give it more than 3 stars because I really have no clue how the story was going to continue.

Mmm this is hard to rate, because it was incredibly graphic and disturbing, but then never actually came to a conclusion so I just feel like I read 300 pages of torture porn, but the writing and the atmosphere was amazing.

Maybe I missed it, but what was the point??

James Hynes writes a very vivid portrayal with masterful world building and rich characters. With settings and characters so entirely realistic the reader becomes completely submerged in the story as if they were there watching and experiencing the events themselves. I highly recommend this book for a great read. However for those with triggers or who are easily triggered, I advise this WILL NOT be an easy read and strongly urge the publisher to put trigger warnings somewhere in the book.

Actual rating: 3.75

Important Content warnings: GRAPHIC SA of a child under 10, graphic SA and abuse of women. Additionally, the author appears to be a white man and the story is told from the POV of a brown boy of unknown origins - he is repeatedly called ‘monkey’ in the text and this left a very bad taste in my mouth.

So, I struggled with this book. Sparrow is the story of an unnamed slave child, who’s consciousness begins when he’s huddled in the corner, as a child barely older than a toddler, watching a kitchen slave fight off SA from a tavern patron. It is told from the POV of the boy when he is much older, living in a far away land, but only tells the story of his life at the tavern until he leaves (I won’t say how because spoilers). I make a point to say this because the text makes it appear as though we will follow him through his life and we certainly don’t go on that journey with him. It was definitely a bit of confusion to me while I was reading, why the story was not progressing like I expected as the page numbers started to climb. When I reached the ending, I learned why.

The author clearly knows how to string a story along, and I was entertained and always curious to see what happens next, but the stringing never seemed to quite have… a point or a direction or decided conclusion. It appears the author very much placed himself in the older narrator retelling his life and simply retold part of his life without completing the character arc and leaving his suffering appear senseless. It left me as a reader very uncomfortable with several parts of the story, and perhaps that was part of the author’s goal too, but it’s not something I personally enjoy experiencing.

Sparrow does not shy away from the abuse of slaves and sex workers. There are many uncomfortable scenes that are not glorified, but still feel played out for shock value. It is a difficult line to walk as an author, especially for a man, and unfortunately I feel like the author failed to handle their suffering with the care it required.

The one relationship I felt was well handled was the quiet love story between the boy’s two ‘mothers’ - the brash kitchen slave, Focaria, and the motherly wolf given the name Euterpe. There’s no question about the depth of their love, but there’s a complexity, not only because of their status as slaves, but also because of their life experiences and own personalities. It was beautiful and aching whenever the two had a private moment together and we watched their relationship ebb and flow and crack and rebuild. Truly they were shining moments in the text.

Ultimately, I left Sparrow wondering why the author felt the need to tell such a story, especially from the POV of a brown boy of unknown origins. I do not know the author’s history, perhaps he himself is a survivor of child SA and writing this helped him process trauma. But while I admit that I was entertained and the author without question has a skill to hook you with a story, I was not as satisfied as I wanted to be and was left wanting more.
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*Thank‌ ‌you‌ Harper Collins ‌Canada and‌ ‌NetGalley‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌eARC in exchange for my honest review*